Cambria is at very real risk of running out of water until the first rain, and yet the Cambria Community Services District (CCSD) counterintuitively seems to have decided to do nothing about the possibility. Instead the CCSD should declare a Stage 5 emergency and configure an accompanying policy to significantly restrict demand for the rest of the year.
Unlike other towns in the county, Cambria relies entirely on two streams—Santa Rosa and San Simeon creeks—for its supply of water, and these are getting dangerously low as we move through the summer. The drought has meant that even what rain we did get during the winter was heavily concentrated in one storm, and we have gotten virtually nothing since.
As a result, the CCSD declared a Stage 4 water emergency, which nevertheless only gives guidelines for conservation and provides for no real penalties for those who use of a lot of water. And yet, the level of the streams is now such that, were they to be applied as indicated, we should have moved to Stage 5, or even Stage 6, by now, which would imply serious surcharges on the excessive use of water. But the district has declined to do so.
In fact, it is now clear that—from communications that are publicly available—management has had no intention of making such a policy recommendation. Any informed citizen might ask why, given the frightening implications of literally running the town out of water.
It might seem comforting that we can always use the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)—a multimillion-dollar plant whose name changes as often as the tide comes in—which after all was originally designed for just such a case as this. It is sad to say, however, that faith in this fallback is misplaced, since the use of the WRF would require no less than three months, including a minimum of 60 days to allow for the required percolation down San Simeon Creek. That would take us into early December.
Given this, an inquiring mind might ask why, given that the situation has been clear for some time, the process of restarting the plant was not implemented months ago. At the very least, it would have been possible to test the plant, which—having been mothballed for years—might not even be functional.
One possible answer is economic in nature. Cambria is, after all, a tourist town, and after taking a huge loss of revenue during the COVID-19 crisis, the restaurants, hotels, and shops are just getting back to normal levels of business this summer. As anyone who tries to find a parking place in town on any given weekend knows, people are flocking into town from the Central Valley, not to mention Paso Robles and Atascadero—escaping the heat all the while apparently ignoring the significant threat of the Delta variant of the virus.
The pressure of this must be great. The residents of Cambria have continued to engage in a remarkable level of conservation, while—according to the engineering department of the district—the commercial sector has much more that might be done. Again, it is certainly understandable that pressure now to restrict demand on the tourist facilities after they have just gotten back up to some sense of normal revenue growth would be daunting, but by rolling the dice that we just might get through seems callous at best. At the very least, the district needs to be honest with residents about its intentions.
Another possible answer on why there might have been reluctance to start up the WRF is again economic in nature. The plant, when operated, can be expected to create a large amount of toxic effluent, which would need to be hauled to a site willing to accept it—at great cost to the CCSD. Estimates vary, of course, but numbers around a million dollars are often cited, money it might be hard for already stretched ratepayers to stomach.
At this point, however, starting the plant, even if it turns out to be functional, is moot, given the long lag time before even a drop of water could be produced. Even the desperate potential option of purchasing water from outside as we run out presumes others would in fact sell us what at that time would be an extremely scarce resource.
All is not lost, however. It is not too late now to consider declaring a Stage 5 emergency, and configuring a complementary policy so as to restrict demand in such a way that there is a good chance of our getting through the rest of the year. Stage 5 even as written would at least restrict commercial use to 75 percent of prior utilization. Doing anything less is continuing to play with water. Δ
Richard Rich writes to New Times under a pseudonym from Cambria. Respond to “Richard” through the editor at clanham@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Sep 2-9, 2021.
Thank you for this article. All the questions you raised are valid concerns that many Cambrians share. Holding onto hope for clarity about CCSD board decisions, and for them to make decisions in the best, long-term interest of this community is not getting easier.
My thanks and appreciation to the author of this article.
The article raises significant concerns about Cambria’s water situation. Cambrians have been through decades of mismanagement and misdirection from general managers and various Boards, none of whom seem to have accomplished the goal of the primary reason they exist: to provide a safe and reliable source of potable water to the community. Cambria’s entire water supply comes from municipal wells located on two creeks, San Simeon Creek (the primary source) and Santa Rosa Creek. The District is permitted by the State to withdraw a specific amount of water from the creeks.
Cambrians have paid, and continue to pay, millions of dollars for a facility that was supposed to be the answer to our water woes in years of severe drought. The facility, first known as the Emergency Water Supply (EWS), was built in October, 2014, with an emergency Coastal Development Permit (eCDP) from SLO County. Since then, the District has changed the name of the facility twice: The Sustainable Water Facility (SWF) to allow for Growth, and more recently, the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)–again, to allow for growth. The facility remains after 7 years without a regular Coastal Development Permit (CDP) but it can still be operated under the emergency permit that has been extended through December 2021.
We are in a serious drought scenario right now, yet a Drought Stage 5 or 6 has not been recommended by Staff or declared by the CCSD Board to turn on the facility. By doing so, the District would implement stricter conservation efforts, apply surcharges, and prepare to supply the community with water as the drought continues to worsen and our well levels continue to decline.
The question is, WHY has the District not responsibly addressed this most important issue? WHY have we not heard a word from the District as to whether the plant has been turned on–which will take 90 days before water can be produced from the wells? That means, if nothing has been done thus far, water will not be available to the Cambria community from the facility until early December, and that depends on whether the Staff and Board do what they need to do! By then, what state will the wells/aquifers be in if we do not receive any rainfall? The CCSD is taking a mighty BIG gamble!
Good summary of Cambria’s water situation. The community has been maneuvered into millions of dollars of debt for this Emergency Water Supply Project, which the district now hesitates even to attempt to operate. Burdened with debt, the district is financially unable to address deferred maintenance on rusted water pipes that frequently burst and aging sewer plant problems. After all this, Cambria faces the same inadequate water situation that has dogged the community for years. Cambria’s elected leaders and employees need to come to terms with the limits of local resources and commit to living within our water supply.
Excellent observations!
I’m glad somebody is AWAKE and CONCERNED. I would hope that the CCSD and its Board of Directors would be more forthcoming about the urgency of our situation…and begin to do something to address these concerns.
Are we back to ‘the same ol’, same ol’? I sincerely hope not.
We are in a drought, and we are always in a drought. Cambria needs a supply of water for the hard times whether it be more tanks, ponds, or a new water system. There has been plenty of time to do something…we have been here for 34 years, and still nothing is done, but wow, have we ever given out millions of dollars for study’s, permits, etc. It’s time to think of the people who live here and make sure we have a supply of water, in an emergency drought. We have cut back by over 40%. What about cutting back hotels? Some of the rooms need to be closed so those of us who live here can have precious water.
Who is Richard Rich? Why are you giving him anonymity? Serious newspapers don’t have unsigned opinion pieces.
I personally don’t know who Richard Rich is. And I have no idea why he is writing under a pseudonym. But that is not the point. In this particular case, his mysterious anonymity doesn’t undermine any of his observations or arguments. You can confirm their validity regardless.
What IS the point is whether there is any truth to these observations and whether they can be helpful in giving this community a badly needed focus and direction. What this writer notes, whatever his true given name may be, resonates with my own observations and knowledge of the crisis Cambria is now facing.